Cooking tips for Christmas

Related recipes

In this month's issue

Taste.com.au - December 2011
Eat in, eat out, eat well. Look for the taste liftout on Tuesdays in the Herald Sun, Courier Mail and Daily Telegraph, on Wednesdays in the Adelaide Advertiser, and in Perth’s Sunday Times.

This year serve a festive feast without fear of failure, writes Zoe Skewes.

Last year I spent more time in the kitchen than with my family. What can I do to make the day more enjoyable?

If you're the lucky person hosting a large family for Christmas Day, taste's own Matt Preston says that the most important thing to remember is not to attempt anything you've never cooked before. "I'd much rather have a good roast chook on Christmas Day than an overcooked turkey or goose," he says. "Christmas is more about the people you're sharing the meal with than it is about sticking to tradition or having the best of everything."

Think like a restaurant chef: practise mise en place, the art of doing as much prep as you can in advance. Wash, trim and peel the vegetables and chop herbs; mix up dressings and seafood sauces; measure out quantities for custard; and whip cream. Stackable takeaway containers are ideal for fridge and bench storage.

Wine and beer should be stored in eskies to maximise fridge space.

Setting the table is the obvious job to do in advance, but also make sure you gather your platters and serving utensils too. Use Post-it notes to label each platter with the dish to be served on it.

A whole ham is expensive. What can I do to ensure I prepare well and wow my guests?

If you're buying your ham from a butcher, double check they source their hams from female pigs, which tend to have a thicker, sweeter fat, giving more flavour to the meat when it's cooked. For couples or smaller families, consider smaller hams, which aren't always on the bone but can still be made with Australian pork. Just check for an "Australian Pork" sticker on the label.

There's no need to be scared off by the thought of glazing your own ham. It's actually quite a simple process and is guaranteed to impress your guests. First, choose a ham with at least a 1.5cm-thick layer of fat. Carefully remove the skin and use a sharp knife to score the fat in a diamond pattern, about 1cm deep. Take care not to cut through to the meat as the fat shrinks during cooking and a deep cut may expose the meat below and it won't look nearly as attractive. Stud the middle of each diamond with cloves to stop the fat lifting away from the ham during cooking.

If you're looking for a twist on a traditional glazed ham, try an Asian glaze by combining 1/2 cup soy sauce and pure maple syrup, Chinese barbecue sauce, a few drops of red liquid food colouring, two crushed garlic cloves and five-spice powder. Brush over your ham, already scored and studded with whole cloves. Refrigerate overnight then bake in a 160C oven for 40 minutes until golden and glazed.

What do I do with all that leftover ham?

Everybody wants to know what to do with leftover ham and the ham bone. Both can be frozen for up to one month and can be used in soups, sandwiches and casseroles. They must be placed in airtight containers and thawing should be done in the fridge.

The trick to keeping your ham fresh after Christmas Day, Matt Preston says, is to keep it in an old cotton pillowcase that has been soaked in a mixture of three parts water to one part white vinegar. Resoak the pillowcase every few days or when it dries out. For post- Christmas ham leftovers, Matt's favourite is a ham sandwich on white bread with English mustard.

I've got 20 people for lunch of prawns. What's the quickest, easiest way to peel them?

The most simple way to serve prawns to your guests is to present them whole on a platter. But if you want to give your guests a helping hand by peeling them first, Mark Maric from Dish Bistro in Brisbane says the easiest way is to twist off the prawn head, hold it by the tail, and with your thumb, work your way under the shell, lifting the shell up and away from the body. Look for a discolouration on the back, which is the start of the digestive tract. To remove this, find the beginning and peel it away. Remove any remaining discolouration with the point of a knife.

To butterfly prawns for the barbecue, Mark says to hold the de-shelled prawn on a chopping board and use a knife to slice it in half lengthways from the head to the tail until you've almost, but not quite, cut it through. Flatten it out and pop in a pan, on a grill or barbecue, butterflied side down. Butterflying helps the meat to cook evenly.

What's the best way to cook a turkey so it's moist and succulent?

A large, golden-skinned turkey is still the most impressive centrepiece for a Christmas meal, says Brenton Hamdorf, retail operations manager at Gawler River Cattle Company in Adelaide. Brenton reckons that a 4kg bird will feed 15 to 20 people, with some leftovers.

Remember to allow enough time for the turkey to defrost. A 4-5kg bird can take three or four days to thaw.

Couscous or rice, combined with fresh sage, walnuts and dried cranberries, is a delicious alternative to bread-based turkey stuffing. Visit taste.com.au for recipes.

Brenton follows a general poultry rule of allowing 30 minutes per kilo in a 180C oven in cooking his turkey – so that 4kg turkey will take 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Cover the breast with foil for the first hour to help keep it moist. Rest the turkey for at least 15 minutes before carving.

Other tricks for preventing the turkey drying out are to brine the turkey first; insert butter between the skin and breast; or cook the bird breast side down (although this method means the turkey that's brought to the table may not be picture-perfect).

Matt's trick for making sure the turkey isn't overcooked is to take it out of the oven about 15 minutes before it's fully cooked and allowing it to finish cooking while the meat is resting out of the oven. "If you're unsure about doing this, buy a meat thermometer, which is the best present any Christmas Day host can ask for," he says.

Roast pork is a favourite at the Christmas table – especially if the crackling is puffed and crispy. The secret to this, says Brenton, is to make sure the skin is well dried. Leave uncovered in the fridge overnight, pat dry with a paper towel and rub with rock salt.

Making a large quantity of gravy just when the whole meal is about to be served is a challenge. So cheat a little and buy some prepared items, such as gravy for the turkey. Good-quality delis and butchers often make their own gravy and sauces, which can be a quick substitute for homemade. Or skip the gravy and use other moisture-adding condiments such as cranberry sauce.

The pudding is done but I'm worried about lumpy custard. What are your tips?

Bernadette Templeman, from Sydney's Restaurant Atelier, says her secret for successful custard in a stressful Christmas Day kitchen is to add a pinch of cornflour when she's mixing together the eggs and sugar, which will stop the mixture splitting when the hot milk is added.

Making custard for a large group can be stressful, says Jason Peppler from Brisbane's Confit Bistro. So for some extra help, he suggests home cooks use a kitchen thermometer to make sure the temperature does not exceed 80C. "This will avoid the eggs and cream curdling," Jason says. "To check when the custard is ready, dip a wooden spoon in the saucepan, remove it, then draw a line across the back of your spoon with your finger. If the custard dribbles down in a consistent line, it is ready."

But if making custard from scratch isn't for you, serve a cheat's custard by combining 300ml store-bought custard in a saucepan with 150ml of thin cream, dab of icing sugar and a splash of brandy. Stir over a low heat until the custard is heated through then pour into a jug for serving at the table. This recipe should serve six and chances are they'll never know the difference.

I'm serving cold desserts this Christmas. Do you have any tips?

If you're serving a frozen dessert instead of a plum pud, remember to remove the dessert from your freezer about five minutes before serving. Unmould and then, to stop further melting as you're taking to the table, plate up on to a chilled surface.

There's no rule that says cranberries can't also star in your dessert. For a festive twist on a traditional pavlova, drain a can of wild cranberries and combine the syrup with a cup of caster sugar and a cinnamon stick in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for a few minutes until the syrup thickens. Remove from heat, stir in the drained cranberries and allow to cool before topping the pavlova.